Bite someone’s hand off is an idiom that’s completely new to me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.
So, if you travel to the US, I’d recommend not using it there. If Americans understand anything of the phrase at all, they’d probably be most likely to think you’ve simply screwed up the idiom “bite the hand that feeds you.”
Tamara, what do you understand “bite someone’s nose off” to mean?
…use harsh words in response, answer back
or just interrupt roughly, with a ‘dog’s snap’
Is it ‘not right’ use?
By the way, in Russian we use both.
The first has a positive meaning (= something you are offered is so attractive to you that you are ready to ‘eat’ it immediately and right together with the ‘hand’ of the person who made the offer
The second one obviously has a negative meaning – ingratitude.
Alan
Did you also happen to notice that “Lord Google” confirms the fact that this idiom falls into the category of “chiefly British”?
.
I really don’t understand your allergic reaction to mentioning things like this. I’m sure there are also a number of expressions used in the US that are unknown and/or not used in the UK. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just the way it is.
.
EDIT:
In order to propagate this expression as accurately as possible, I think the title of the thread ought to be corrected.
Allergic? I don’t have any allergy in that respect at all. I’m afraid you’ve lost me. My sole purpose in quoting from Google was for a laugh. Clearly my little ruse failed.
English Language Tests, Intermediate level
is quite interesting…